Woman critically injured in apparent road rage shooting in West Palm Beach

Julius Whigham II, Palm Beach Post
·2 min read
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WEST PALM BEACH — An apparent act of road rage early Sunday in West Palm Beach has left a 44-year-old Royal Palm Beach woman in critical condition, police said.

Investigators say the incident occurred shortly before 8:30 a.m. as two cars were involved in some type of encounter on northbound Australian Avenue near Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard.

The woman's car and a red 2016 Nissan Altima turned onto westbound Palm Beach Lakes and were side by side just east of Interstate 95 when one of the three people in the Altima fired at the woman, striking her in the neck, police spokesperson Mike Jachles said.

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Despite her injury, the woman, who was driving what was identified only as a gray passenger vehicle, followed the Altima on northbound I-95 into Martin County before pulling over just south of a weigh station as her condition worsened.

The woman was flown back to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, where she remains in critical condition but is expected to survive, police said Monday.

Police did not release the woman's name, citing a 2018 state constitutional amendment that allows crime victims to have their identities shielded from public disclosure.

Officers tracked the suspects' vehicle to Greenacres on Sunday morning and began conducting surveillance, Jachles said. Investigators later pulled over the Altima at PGA Boulevard and Fairchild Gardens Avenue in Palm Beach Gardens.

Police from Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens assisted with the search, along with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Highway Patrol.

The Altima's three occupants refused to cooperate, Jachles said. Detectives have impounded the vehicle and the shooting remained under investigation Monday.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the West Palm Beach Police Department at 561-822-1900, or Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County at 1-800-458-TIPS (8477).

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Woman shot, wounded in apparent West Palm Beach road rage incident